The Elementals: The Legend of Sword Erzethel

Chapter II: Zerul the Hermit

We went to Mt. Caraccus in the morning bearing in mind the warning that Elder Ghanto gave us. "What is this "creeper"?" I asked. "Creepers are bug-like monsters. They are vicious and are very dangerous creatures." She said. "Okay, I hope we won't bump with these monsters." I scarily said. "So, Shalma, do you also have powers like those two men fighting yesterday?" I curiously asked. "Yes, I do." "So, you can throw people 20 feet above the ground?" "(Giggling) maybe, well, I can control plants." She answered. "Can you do what Elder Ghanto did yesterday?" I asked. "No, I can't. Only wind elementals are capable of doing that." She replied. "So, those two guys yesterday were wind elementals too? You said you can control plants, so what are you?" I amazedly asked. "Yes, they were wind elementals. And as for me, I am a wood elemental." Then suddenly, we heard a bug sound not far from where we are. It was the creeper. We unfortunately walked through his nesting ground. Shalma tried to fight with the creeper but it was strong. No matter what Shalma do, the creeper overpowered her. Shalma with her strength drained, fainted. It almost killed us when suddenly an arrow was struck through the creeper. And a strange man jumped over and killed the creeper. This man possesses a magical bow and an arrow which aflame when touches the target. "Thank you, sir, for helping us." I said. "No need to thank me. I just passed by to look for food and I fortunately found you guys in trouble." He said. "I noticed you're with an elemental." "Yes. She's Shalma and she is a wood elemental. My name is James." I answered. "So that's why she can barely scratch that creeper." He said. "By the way, what is your name sir?" I asked. "I am Zureke. And I am a hunter." He replied. "We better get her to a safe place; she's weakened from that fight. Many creepers might come and at that time we may not survive." Zureke said.

We went to a cave for shelter and so we could rest for the night. "Hey, Zureke, how did you manage to defeat that monster and what about Shalma being a wood elemental?" I asked with curiosity. "Creepers' weakness is fire, and your friend there is a wood elemental, she is clearly not a better match for a monster whose weakness is fire." He answered. "Back there, I used my special arrow to kill it." He followed. "Where did you get that weapon anyway?" I asked. "I got that from a friend. This weapon is blessed by the great elders of Sambala. Where are you two heading? Knowing that there are creepers around, why come here?" he asked.

I told him that we need to see the old hermit who lives up the mountain so I will know what happened to me. I also told him that I was not from any place of Sambala that I was from another world. He told me that he would like to help us, so in the morning we continue our journey to see the hermit. On our way, we encountered different monsters and creatures. Luckily we have Zureke on our side and with the help of Shalma's wood elemental powers; we manage to defeat all monsters and creatures that tried to harm us. When we were near the place where the hermit lives, a giant spider-like monster appeared. Fortunately, we defeated that monster but Zureke was badly hurt. He was poisoned by that monster. From the looks of his wound, he was dying. I didn't know what to do. Shalma has exhausted her powers that made her weak. Then came an old man and helped us. He took us to his home and there he took care of Zureke. We were lucky that he found us or Zureke would be long gone.

"Thank God you found us. I was worried that my friend is going to die down there. Thank you very much." I said. "Tch...yeah, you're lucky that you're in the place where I need to get these herbs. If not, I wouldn't have gone there." He said. "Why are you here anyway? Don't you know that vicious monsters lurk in every corner of this mountain? Worse than that, there are creepers here! So surprising that you've managed to get this far!" he exclaimed.

I told him that we were looking for a hermit named Zerul. "I see! So, you were looking for me. Now, you found me. What is it you want from me?" he said. I was glad that the old man who helped us turned out to be the hermit we were looking for.

So I told him what happened and at the same time, I asked him about the prophecy the elder told us. "Ah! The prophecy, yes, 5000 years ago, a great elder from the Kingdom of Thors, prophesized that a man will come from a different world and will save us, he prophesized that after the disappearance of the great hero "Azura". Now, here you are, the man of prophecy." He said. "So, you're saying that I really am the man of that prophecy?" I said. "No, I'm not, unless you have the medallion of Azura." He said. "What medallion, this medallion?" I exclaimed. "That's the one! Where did you get that? How did it end up in your hands?" he asked. I told him that my great grandfather gave it to my father and so did my father give it to me. Zerul said that Azura didn't die from the battle but he was lost in time and end up in my world. "It seems that the great hero Azura was your great grandfather." He said. "This medallion only activates when the time comes where great evil is upon us. It seems that this is the reason how you end up here in Sambala." He said. "If this medallion manages to bring me here, this could also be my way back to my world, right?" I asked. "Yes, maybe, I'm not sure. Maybe if you will defeat the great evil which threatened your medallion which made it activates maybe you can get it to bring you back where you came from." He said. "Great, now I have to fight this great evil which I don't know what exactly is, which can be the cause of my death just to get me back to my world. I don't even know how to fight, even handle a gun or a sword or a knife, how in the world am I going to defeat this great evil?!" I exclaimed. "Well, I could teach you how to handle a sword and how to wield it. And besides, you have this two to back you up. First, I just have to treat this one here. He's really hurt pretty bad. And as for you young elemental, you must rest, you have exhausted much of your elemental power." As what Elder Ghanto told us, I was the man of prophecy. I also found out that I am a descendant of their great hero Azura who actually disappeared to my world and his medallion is the only way that I could get back to my own world. Using that medallion, I have to fight the great evil that is coming. Until that time comes, I have to train with Zerul as to prepare me for the upcoming war. We stayed on Mt. Caraccus for half a year training myself to become a warrior. The training paid off, I became good at fighting and handling a sword. I was almost ready for the war, but that was just the beginning of a great adventure. There are lots of creatures and evil monsters ahead and we didn't know what great evil awaits us after this long training.